Cary-Grove senior Logan Abrams walked off the Class 3A Boys Track and Field State Meet discus podium Saturday afternoon ready to take the next step in his illustrious career.

Abrams took a few steps, away from the fading blue podium at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Field in Charleson, looking for his straw hat. With the Illinois State logo, his future track school, affixed at the top of his eye-catching hat, Abrams preferred not to dwell on the disappointment of his final high school event.

Abrams entered the state track meet with lofty aspirations.

A state title in the shot put?

Maybe, even in the discus?

Both goals seemed plausible for the multi-sport athlete, a four-time state track qualifier.

But Abrams fouled during all three of his shot put attempts in Friday’s state preliminaries to eliminate the possibility of a state title in one of his two events. After earning fifth place in the shot put last season, Abrams expressed disappointment over his two-day state showing.

Abrams, who earned two state medals last spring, did manage to set a personal best with his best placing, finishing with a third-place medal in the discus with a top toss of 56.09 meters (184 feet).

“I had a rough weekend,” Abrams said. “I felt really good. It wasn’t the way I wanted to end my senior year. I never really had a problem with fouling before, so that was very interesting.

“The way Cary-Grove approaches everything, especially in football, allowed me to bounce back. To go from fouling out, I was really feeling hot, but I bounced back and threw a really good mark in my first discus throw. It stinks, but I knew the best was ahead of me. I’m glad I bounced back.”

Abrams said he doesn’t regret his decision to stick with track in college over football.

“I made the decision in December to do track,” Abrams said. “I have some very good things going on, and I think Illinois State makes me excited to join those guys.”

Abrams, a four-year varsity football player who wrestled on varsity in his freshman year and reached sectionals, said his career had several memorable moments.

“I don’t think I regret anything,” Abrams said. “I’m happy where I’m going.”

Marengo junior Jackson Heimsoth capped an impressive day with a Class 2A second-place finish in the 200 meters in a time of 21.73. Heimsoth flashed a big smile to earn his second medal after running a leg in Marengo’s fourth-place 800-meter relay.

“There was a lot of competition and I didn’t run my best in prelims, but that didn’t matter in the finals,” Heimsoth said. “I tied my PR from sectionals. I just got out strong and stayed with the guy who was leading. I was happy, but I wish I could do better with the time.”

Marengo made a big splash early in the meet by snaring fourth place in the relay. The all-junior relay of Sam Tucker, Michael Gieseke, Grant Heimsoth and Jackson Heimsoth came less than a second away from a top-three spot.

“I’m very happy with my leg and knew I had some ground to make up, but I was happy with it,” Jackson Heimsoth said.

Woodstock North junior sprinter Adan Castaneda, who reached the prelims in the 200 last season and also plays football, collected a pair of 2A medals on Saturday. He earned fifth in the 200 with a time of 22.14 and seventh in the 100 (10.94).

“I think the environment was more than I was expecting last year,” Castaneda said. “I think this was another learning experience, which will help me for next year. I’m happy to make the finals in two (events). But next year I want more.”

Dundee-Crown senior sprinter Oreoluwa Sobodu, a Wisconsin-Oshkosh recruit, saw room for improvement after dealing with a slight injury. He closed out his career with a 3A fifth-place medal in the 100 (10.76) and sixth-place medal in the 200 (21.88).

He became the first boys sprinter from D-C to medal in the 100 and 200.

“I felt a slight hamstring in the 100, but it didn’t bother me (in the 200),” Sobodu said. “I can do better. I know it.”

Cary-Grove senior Jameson Tenopir ended his high school career with a sixth-place finish in the 3A 1,600 with a time of 4:13.27.

Also in 3A, McHenry senior Nate Martin took 12th in the 800 with a time of 1:57.56. Teammate Myles Wagner, also a senior, finished 34th in the 3A 3,200 with a time of 9:42.33.

Dundee-Crown senior Kyle Brents finished 16th in the 3A high jump at 1.93 meters (6-4), matching his jump from Friday’s prelims.

Harvard junior Braden Wittum earned a fifth-place medal in the 2A shot put with a throw of 16.77 meters (55-00.25). Teammate Bryan Hernandez, a senior, was 11th in the same event with a throw of 15.92 meters (52-02.75).

Also in 2A, Johnsburg senior Jared Lopez tied for 10th in the pole vault with a jump of 4.25 meters (13-11.25). Woodstock North senior Braelan Creighton tied for 13th at 4.10 meters (13-05.25).

Crystal Lake South’s Joseph Gonzalez earned seventh in the 2A 1,600 (4:20.56).

Woodstock senior Ellery Shutt finished 16th in the 2A 3,200 with a time of 9:36.03. Johnsburg sophomore Grady Smith placed 20th in 9:44.25, Prairie Ridge sophomore Tyler Sjoblom was 30th in 9:58.84 and Woodstock North sophomore Geo Kopulos was 40th in 10:45.69.